J. Nannoplankton Res., 38(1), 2020, pp. 7–16 © 2020 International Nannoplankton Association
ISSN 1210-8049 Printed by The Sheridan Press, USA

7

Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Upper
Cretaceous–Lower Paleocene sequence of the Deramazan
section, Sulaimani area, Kurdistan region of NE Iraq
Soran O. A. Kharajiany

University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan, Iraq; soran.muhammad@univsul.edu.iq

Basim A. Al-Qayim

University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan, Iraq

Sherwood W. Wise, Jr

Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4100, USA
Manuscript received 20th April, 2017; revised manuscript accepted 16th March, 2020

Abstract The nature of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary in the Kurdistan region of NE Iraq is still under
debate. Most studies have considered the Danian sediments to be mostly missing. Another hypothesis suggests that a
conglomerate represents the contact between the Cretaceous and Paleogene. We examined the boundary successionof the Deramazan section in the Sulaimani area (NE Iraq) in order to determine the calcareous nannofossil assemblages and address the biostratigraphy around the boundary. The rock strata in the studied section are characterised byalternations of olive-green to greenish-grey sandstone, siltstone, shale and marlstone interlayers in both the Tanjero(Upper Campanian–Maastrichtian) and overlying Kolosh (Paleocene–Lower Eocene) Formations. The upper part ofthe section includes a thick conglomerate bed. We found that deposition across the boundary was essentially continuous, with no discernible break in sedimentation. The base of Zone NP1 (base of the Kolosh Formation) was identified
by the bases of Biantholithus sparsus, Cruciplacolithus spp. and Coccolithus pelagicus, plus an acme of Cervisiella
operculata, which seems to indicate no hiatus. There is some reworking of Cretaceous taxa above the boundary, into
NP1 and NP2. The relative abundances of the nannofossil assemblages across the boundary reflect a productive marine environment.
Keywords Nannofossils, Biantholithus sparsus, Tanjero, Kolosh, K–Pg boundary, Sulaimani, Kurdistan, Iraq
1. Introduction
The Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary (K–Pg) in NE Iraq
has been studied by several authors, using planktonic
foraminifera, such as Abdel-Kareem (1986) and Sharbazheri (2009). In our study, we examined the stratigraphic
sequence across this boundary, at one locality, using calcareous nannofossils. This globally-important boundary is
characterised in the study area by a sequence of flysch sediments of the foreland basin on the NE Arabian Plate (AlQayim et al., 2012). The flysch sediments are represented
by the Maastrichtian Tanjero Formation and the overlying
Palaeogene Kolosh Formation.
The Deramazan section, which is 300 m thick, wasselected for a case study to sample and re-examine theage of the sequence. The section is located 200 m westof the village of Deramazan, between the Sulaimani–Qaradagh main road and the Tanjero River (35˚23’56.0”N,
45˚30’36.8”; Figures 1, 2).

2. Geological setting
The study area is located within the High Folded Zone of
the Zagros Orogenic Belt, which is characterised by numerous folds and faults that strike NW–SE. Most of thefeatures and units are shown in Figure 1. The structuresin this zone are linear, curvilinear, asymmetrical, doublyplunging and high amplitude, and are arranged in an enechelon pattern on the surface (Buday & Jassim, 1987).
To the NE are the complicated, imbricate Zagros Suture
Zones, whilst, to the SW, the folds become lower in elevation, with broader synclines in the Low Folded Zone (Jassim & Goff, 2006).
The study area represents the flysch stage of the Zagros Foreland Basin that followed pelagic carbonate sedimentation on the passive Arabian margin (Al-Qayim etal., 2012). The flysch sequence exceeds 2000 m in someplaces, and consists of alternating sandstones, siltstones
and shales, with associated conglomerates and carbonates(Al-Qayim, 1994). The flysch sequence consists of two
formations––the mainly Maastrichtian Tanjero Formation,

8

Kharajiany, Al-Qayim, Wise

Mosul
Erbil
Dokan

Sulaimani
KirkukDerbandikhan
Studied section

Figure 1: Relief map of NE Iraq/Kurdistan, showing the geographical location of the study area
Zirgwezvillageh main road

Sulaimani–Qaradag

1
3
Deramazan
village

2

er

iv
ro R

e
Tanj

Figure 2: Tilted image of the Deramazan section, showing the geography of the study area and theorientation of the sampled sequences (1–3). From Google Earth (2013)

with a proximal turbidite facies, and the Upper Paleocene–
Lower Eocene Kolosh Formation, a distal turbidite facies.
The Tanjero Formation was first described by van Bellen et al. (1959) from the type section in the Sirwan Valley,
70 km SE of the study section, and comprises two divisions. The lower division is a pelagic marl, with occasional beds of argillaceous limestone, and with siltstone beds
in its upper part. The upper division contains silty marls,
sandstones, conglomerates and sandy or silty, organic detrital limestones. The thickness of the formation is highlyvariable, reaching 2018 m in the type section.
Beneath the Tanjero Formation is the Shiranish For-mation, with its gradational andconformable contact. The overlying sequence is the Kolosh Formation, which was deposited ina deep marine trough with flysch
sediments (Buday, 1980). Karim(2004) stated that the environmentof this formation was highly variable, with the depth ranging fromcontinental to deep marine, while
the salinity ranged from that offresh-to-brackish riverine to marine waters.
The Kolosh Formation was
first described by van Bellen etal. (1959) at the village of Krozh, north of the town of Koya
(SW of the city of Sulaimani).
The formation consists of 777 mof alternating shales and sandstones. Al-Qayim (1994) studied
the petrography of this formation,
determining that the sandstones
were recycled from the orogenic
province, and developed as part of
the foreland system. In the Sirwan
Valley, van Bellen et al. (1959)
found that the Tanjero Formation
was unconformably overlain by
the Kolosh Formation. The unconformity is marked by a total faunalchange, with no transitional elements, while the Kolosh Formation is overlain by the red beds ofthe Gercus Formation.

3. Material and methods
Several field trips were conducted to examine, measureand describe the stratigraphy of the section. Ninety rocksamples were collected, and standard smear-slides wereprepared for studying the calcareous nannofossils, with afocus on the K–Pg transition.
Three sampled sequences are indicated in Figure 2.
The first sampled interval yielded 40 rock samples froma clastic unit previously considered to contain the K–Pg
boundary, although the nannofossils indicated an age ofBiostratigraphy of the K–Pg, Iraq

Middle–Upper Paleocene. The second interval included
25 samples from a sedimentary succession previously
thought to be close to the boundary, but this was actuallyfound to be Upper Maastrichtian. The third attempt was
performed on a sequence located between the previous
two sampled intervals, and a further 25 samples were collected. The sample numbers of the latter section are, fromoldest to youngest, -23 to -2, as shown in Figures 3 and4. The nannofossil marker-species place the K–Pg boundary between Samples -15B and -15A, as shown in Figure
4b. The nannofossil study, and its resulting biostratigraphy, were based on the examination of smear-slides using cross-polarised-light microscopy, at magnifications of
400x and 1000x, as well as scanning electron microscopy.

-16A
-16B
-15
-15A
-15B
-15C

-15D

-14

Figure 3: Part of the studied K–Pg section near Deramazan. The boundary lies between Samples -15B and -15A

4. Lithostratigraphy of the study section
The studied section was located 200 m west of the southern part of the village of Deramazan, between the main
Sulaimani–Qaradagh road and the Tanjero River (Figure2). The section consists mainly of the Tanjero, Kolosh andSinjar Formations (Maastrichtian to Middle Paleocene).
The samples were taken parallel to a line that connected
the villages of Deramazan and Zirgwez. About 303 m ofthe section, which had all been previously assigned to the
middle of the Tanjero Formation, were measured. The sequence was generally characterised by alternations of yellow, medium-grained sandstone beds, with black shales,marlstones and marly limestones, cropping out from theDeramazan section down to the Tanjero River (Figure 3).
These beds dip toward the SW at 30–35˚.
Superficially, this succession appears to be similar tothe beds of the Shiranish Formation, or perhaps a tongue

9of that formation, but closer up, it is clear that they are different, as this succession contains sandstone beds that areusually absent from the Shiranish Formation. Towards the
top of this unit, the lithology of the Tanjero Formation becomes more clastic, with the sandstones becoming thicker,
coarser-grained and darker in colour up-section.
The upper part of the Tanjero Formation consists ofa greenish-grey, medium- to thickly-bedded horizon ofsandstone (2–5 m), with medium- to thinly-bedded blackshale beds. The uppermost part of the unit becomes acoarse and granular sandstone of polygenetic origin. The
lithologies then become coarser upwards, changing fromorganic-rich shales and silty marlstones to siltstones andsandstones. Locally, pebbly sandstones are sandwiched
between dark, medium- to thickly-bedded marlstones,
sandstones and siltstones (Figure 4).
The underlying part of the section exhibits a clearer
cyclic pattern. The clastics in these cycles are primarily cemented with calcareous materials. Each cycle is repeated up to the appearance of the first conspicuous conglomerate bed (3 m thick). These contain poorly-sorted,
rounded clasts and are mainly composed of organic-richlimestones. Three other conglomerate beds succeed thefirst, representing repetitions of fining-upwards clastic
materials (Figure 4). The conglomeratic sequence is mainly composed of medium- to coarse-grained, grey to lightgreen sandstones and conglomerates of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The hard and compacted sandstones arewell bedded, well rounded and cemented by calcite. The
lithostratigraphy is illustrated in Figure 4.
5. Nannofossil assemblages
5.1 Cretaceous
The Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil assemblages fromthe uppermost Maastrichtian are moderately to well preserved. Figures 5 and 6 show the relative abundances of
selected taxa. The most abundant taxa were Microrhabdulus undosus (Plate 1, figs 16–18) and Watznaueria spp.,
including W. biporta, W. ovata? (Plate 1, fig. 23) and W.
barnesiae (Plate 1, figs 21, 24). Micula spp. were alsoabundant, including M. staurophora (Plate 2, figs 1, 2),
M. praemurus (Plate 2, figs 3, 4), Micula murus and M.
premolisilvae. Lithraphidites quadratus (Plate 2, fig. 23)
and L. praequadratus were frequent in the assemblages,
and Arkhangelskiella cymbiformis (Plate 2, fig. 15) was
variably abundant. The presence of L. quadratus, M. prae-

Kharajiany, Al-Qayim, Wise

>58
>31

Interval (m)Formation
KoloshTanjeroLithostratigraphy

Stage
DanianConglomerate:
45 m of thickly- to very
thickly-bedded conglomerates of poly- and monogenetic
origin, with granular to pebbly
sandstones, siltstones andmarlstones/shales

Thickness (m)Predominant lithology

MaastrichtianThickness (m)43>200Upper Maastrichtian

Mesozoic

Lithology
Marly limestoneMarlstone
Shale
Evaporite
Siltstone
Sandstone
Conglomerate

DanianPaleocene

Cenozoic>49

Sample number

Stage

Epoch

Era

Age

Lithostratigraphy

SymbolSample number

10

Sandstone:
43 m of sandstones, siltstones
and silty shales

Mudrocks:>215 m of mudrocks, withalternations of black shales,marlstones, marly limestones
and thin beds of sandstone,
plus some thin beds of friable
limestone and silty shaleab
Figure 4: (a) Lithostratigraphy of the Deramazan section(b) Detailed stratigraphic log of the K–Pg boundary interval

murus and M. murus indicate the Upper Maastrichtian.
Other Maastrichtian species found included Ceratolithoides arcuatus (Plate 2, figs 18, 19), C. kamptneri and
C. self-trailiae (Plate 2, fig. 20). Less abundant species
found in the Maastrichtian sequence included Retecapsa
angustiforata (Plate 1, fig. 25), Retecapsa crenulata (Plate2, fig. 16), Cribrosphaerella ehrenbergii (Plate 2, figs 5,8?), Chiastozygus sp. (Plate 2, fig. 10) and Tetrapodorhabdus decorus (Plate 2, fig. 14).

Two species that are generally considered to have survived the K–Pg boundary event were found below theboundary––Neocrepidolithus neocrassus (Plate 1, fig. 19)
and Lapideacassis bispinosa (Plate 1, fig. 20). Plate 2 illustrates the more common species from the Upper Maastrichtian, whilst Figures 5 and 6 show selected distributions and relative abundances of some of the common taxa(including Samples -17 to -15A) in Zone CC26.

Biostratigraphy of the K–Pg, Iraq

Prinsius martinii +dimorphosus

Praeprinsius spp.

Zygodiscus sheldoniae

Placozygus
fibuliformis

Futyania petalosa

Zeugrhabdotus
sigmoides

Coccolithus pelagicus

A (≥10)Abundant

Cruciplacolithus
primus + tenuis

Biantholithus sparsus

Cervisiella/Thoracosphaera spp.

C (7–9)CommonCyclagelosphaera spp.

Biscutum ellipticum

M (4–6)Moderate

Markalius inversus

Microrhabdulus spp.

Micula prinsii

R (1–3)
Rare

Zeugrhabdotus
sigmoides

Micula murus

Nephrolithus frequens

Watznaueria
barnesiae + biporta

Lithraphidites
quadratus

Eiffellithus eximius +turriseiffelii

Uniplanarius spp.

Arkhangelskiella spp.

Lithraphidites spp.

Sample number

Stage
Nannofossil zone
Nanno subzone
Formation
Thickness (m)

N (0)
None

>35

TanjeroDanianNP1/NNTP1
B
A
Kolosh>40
Maastrichtian
CC26

Lithostratigraphy

Graphical abundance
Abund. (per ﬁeld of view)
Abundance category

11

Figure 5: Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic zonation of the Deramazan section% B. sparsus% C. tenuis% C. pelagicus% Praeprinsius spp.

% P. martinii% C. operculata

Palaeogene

Palaeogene

Palaeogene

Palaeogene

Palaeogene

Palaeogene

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous% M. prinsii% M. murus% Arkhangelskiella spp.

Palaeogene

Palaeogene

Palaeogene% W. barnesiae+biporta

Palaeogene% Cyclagelosphaera spp.

Palaeogene% Eiffellithus spp.

Palaeogene

Cretaceous
Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Figure 6: Percent abundance of selected nannofossil species across the K–Pg boundary in the Deramazan section, 0–95 m

12Kharajiany, Al-Qayim, Wise

5.2 Palaeogene
Plate 1 illustrates some of the common Lower Danian species from the Deramazan section, whilst Figures 5 and 6
present plots of the distributions and relative abundancesin Zones NP1 and NP2. The Lower Danian assemblagesof NP1 are moderately well preserved. Biantholithus, thefirst genus to evolve in the Palaeogene, is common, andrepresented by B. sparsus (Plate 1, figs 12–15), whichis common in the lower part of NP1. Other Palaeogene
taxa in the sequence are Coccolithus pelagicus (Plate 1,
fig. 11; Plate 2, fig. 21), Cruciplacolithus primus (Plate
1, fig. 7), Prinsius martinii (Plate 1, fig. 8), Praeprinsius
dimorphosus (Plate 1, figs 9, 10) and Cyclagelosphaera
alta (Plate 1, fig. 2). Some species that evolved in the Late
Cretaceous, and are considered to be K–Pg survivors were
present, include Cervisiella operculata (Plate 1, fig. 6),
Zeugrhabdotus embergeri (Plate 1, fig. 3) and Z. sigmoides (Plate 1, fig. 4).
The Lower Danian sequence encompasses Samples-14B to -11. The Upper Danian is not included here. Reworked fragments and whole specimens of Upper Maastrichtian nannofossils that were observed in the Lower
Danian may have resulted from Early Danian turbidity
currents or tsunami-induced redeposition resulting fromthe K–Pg bolide impact (Kristan-Tollmann & Tollmann,
1994).
6. Biostratigraphy
6.1 CC26 (Upper Maastrichtian)According to Perch-Nielsen (1985a), the uppermost Maastrichtian zone is CC26 (of Sissingh, 1977), based on thebase of Nephrolithus frequens and the extinct of mostCretaceous taxa. This works well at high latitudes, whereN. frequens is relatively common. Problems arise at the
top of this zone because Cretaceous taxa are often foundreworked into overlying Paleocene deposits. At low latitudes, N. frequens is very rare, and the bases of M. murusand then M. prinsii can be used to subdivide the interval
between the base of L. quadratus (base CC25b) and the
top of the Maastrichtian, which is what we did here. Using
the extinct of Cretaceous taxa to determine the top of theMaastrichtian was unfeasible due to reworking. We therefore used the bases of Lower Danian taxa to locate theboundary. Note that some reworked Upper Maastrichtian
taxa occurred in higher abundances in the Danian than thein-situ Danian species (Figures 5, 6).

6.2 NP1 (Lower Danian)
According to Perch-Nielsen (1985b), the lowest nannofossil zone in the Palaeogene (Paleocene) is NP1 (of Martini,1971), the base of which is defined by the top of Cretaceous taxa and the base of an acme of Cervisiella operculata. The base of the following zone (NP2) is defined by
the base of Cruciplacolithus tenuis. According to Burnett
et al. (1998, fig. 6.8), NP1 can be divided into two subzones––NNTp1A and NNTp1B (of Varol, 1989).
6.2.1 NNTp1A
The base of this subzone is defined by the top of Cretaceous taxa and base of B. sparsus and/or C. alta. The top
is defined by the base of the following subzone. In thisstudy, we found the base of B. sparsus, accompanied byrelatively abundant C. operculata, in Sample -15B, and so
this was designated the base of NP1/NNTp1A.
6.2.2 NNTp1B
The base of this subzone is defined by the top of Biantholithus hughesii and/or base of C. primus. It contains the firstcommon occurrence of Zeugrhabdotus sigmoides (Sample-14; Plate 1, fig. 4), which is a Cretaceous survivor species.
6.3 NP2 (Lower Danian)This zone extends from the base of C. tenuis to the baseof Chiasmolithus danicus. Some authors use the base of
any Cruciplacolithus species––usually C. primus, a small
form of the genus––to determine the base of NP2. The detailed zonation of NP2 was not studied.
7. Discussion
The lithostratigraphy and calcareous nannofossil assemblages clearly indicate that deposition was essentiallycontinuous across the K–Pg boundary. This finding differsfrom those of earlier studies, which have proposed a significant break at the boundary. For example, van Bellen
et al. (1959) determined that, during the K–Pg interval,
the environmental controls on facies distribution changed
considerably, and that it was unusual to find Maastrichtian
rocks overlain by sediments of Paleocene age. They also
noted that the unconformity between the Tanjero Formation and the overlying Kolosh Formation was marked by
a complete faunal change, with no transitional elements.
Buday (1980) also described both formations, concludingBiostratigraphy of the K–Pg, Iraq

13

that the lower contact of the Kolosh Formation was clearly unconformable and transgressive. In the type area, theTanjero Formation underlies the Kolosh Formation, but inother areas, the Kolosh Formation is underlain by the Shiranish Formation.
The results of our study also do not match with thoseof Starkie (1994), who studied the Cretaceous to Lower
Miocene calcareous nannofossils from Iraqi oil wells. He
found that the Cenozoic succession lay unconformably
above the Upper Cretaceous, determining that 3.7–6.1 Myr(NP1 to NP3) were missing. He thought the unconformity
was probably the result of the tectonic processes that wereactive during the final closure of the Tethys Ocean during
the Late Cretaceous.
Other hypotheses have considered the Danian sediments of Kurdistan and Iraq to be absent, and that a conglomerate bed marks the K–Pg boundary. The results ofthis study, however, prove that Danian sediments do exist
in this region, and that the conglomerate bed is not at theK–Pg boundary.

Jalil for his assistance during the fieldwork. We are grateful to

8. Concluding remarks
Our biostratigraphic analysis of calcareous nannofossil assemblages across the K–Pg boundary from the Deramazan section near the city of Sulaimani, Iraq documents
the presence of CC26, indicating the Upper Maastrichtian, and NP1–NP2 (including NNTp1A and NNTp1B),
indicating the Lower Danian. The completeness of thesezones––with uppermost Maastrichtian species giving way
to lowermost Danian species––suggests a depositionaltransition with no significant break or hiatus.

Biostratigraphy. British Micropalaeontological Society Se-

Acknowledgments
This paper is part of a dissertation in progress by SOAK, which,two reviewers for their comments on the manuscript.

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14

Kharajiany, Al-Qayim, Wise

Plate 1

5 µm
Cruciplacolithus sp. (-6)

Cyclagelosphaera alta (-11)

Zeugrhabdotus embergeri (-14)

Zeugrhabdotus sigmoides (-14)

Placozygus fibuliformis (-14)

Praeprinsius dimorphosus (-15C)

P. dimorphosus (-14A)

Cervisiella operculata (-15D)

Cruciplacolithus primus (-11)

Prinsius martinii (-14)

Coccolithus pelagicus (-15C)

Biantholithus sparsus (-13)

B. sparsus (-13)

Microrhabdulus undosus (-15B) M. undosus (-15B)

M. undosus (-16A)

Watznaueria barnesiae (-15A) W. barnesiae (-15A)

Watznaueria ovata? (-14A)

B. sparsus (-14A)

Neocrep. neocrassus (-15A)

W. barnesiae (-15)

Biantholithus sparsus (-15B)

Lapideacassis bispinosa (-15A)

Retecapsa angustiforata (-15A)

Biostratigraphy of the K–Pg, Iraq

15

Plate 25 µm
Micula staurophora (-17A)

M. staurophora (-15)

Micula praemurus (-15B)

M. praemurus (-17C)

Eiffellithus turriseiffelii (-15A)

E. turriseiffelii (-15A)

C. ehrenbergii? (-17A)

calcisphere (-16A)

Micula staurophora (-17B)

M. staurophora (-15)

indeterminate spine (-17A)

Tetrapodo. decorus spine (-17C) Arkhangel. cymbiformis (-17A)

Retecapsa crenulata (-17A)

Gartnerago segmentatum? (-17A) Ceratolithoides arcuatus (-17A) C. arcuatus (-17A)

Chiastozygus sp. (-17B)

Ceratolithoides self-trailiae (-17)

2 µm

3 µm
Coccolithus pelagicus (-15)

Cribrosphaerella ehrenbergii (-17A)

Micula murus (-16)

3 µm
Lithraphidites quadratus (-17)

16Kharajiany, Al-Qayim, Wise
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